Isabella's Lullaby
by aidyr
Summary: Whenever Ray hums his mother's lullaby, Emma and Norman know he's feeling a bit down. Today they catch him doing it once again and set out to make him feel better. Alternatively titled: These three are my ot3 and I miss writing poly stuff (Also posted on AO3)


The gloomy, harmonic humming emanating from their bedroom was always telling. Whenever Ray hummed this tune, his spirits were nothing but low. Emma and Norman listened quietly from outside their door, thinking silently about what they could say to cheer up their partner. Empty words of support seldom did much to make him feel better, so whenever this happened, they always needed to take a moment to ponder their approach. All the while, from behind the bedroom door, Ray continued to hum his mother's melancholic lullaby.

The reason for Ray's attachment to this melody had always confused Emma and Norman both. He and his mother had a… rocky relationship, to say the least. Regardless of his reasons for doing so however, the fact is he was humming the song. And that meant he needed someone.

Emma looked to Norman with a gentle look of concern. He returned her worried stare. The two sat for a moment longer, reflecting on what to do. It was so hard for Emma not to kick the door down, rush over to the boy, and shower him with kisses and praise. That's what they did for her when she felt sad, at least. Well… that's what Norman did. Even after all this time, Ray still got cute and flustered about initiating affection. She didn't mind though, it's simply who he is.

Cheering up Ray always took a smidgen more finesse.

Norman caught Emma's attention with a light tap on the shoulder, and motioned for her to follow his lead. Which she happily did.

Norman's hand landed softly upon the doorknob, turning it, and in the same motion, swung open the old wood door. Ray jumped at the sudden intrusion, head snapping up to meet the gazes of her partners. He was sitting criss-cross on their bed, a book held in firmly in his hands. It's the same book he had been reading that morning. And he was still on page thirteen. He had barely made it through three pages in the past several hours.

"Hey Ray." Emma greeted sheepishly as she shimmied her way into their room. "What'cha reading?" She already knew of course. It was one of her favorites.

He blinked up at them for a second, still processing their sudden presence. Eventually he sighed, looked down at the book, and answered flatly, "Oh this? It's uh… That book you lent me. The Adventures of Ugo."

"Oh really?" Norman asked curiously. "Doesn't really seem like your speed."

Ray shrugged lazily. "I figured I'd give it a shot. Emma said it was good so, why not?"

"Fair enough." Came Norman's quiet response.

The trio fell into a beat of silence. Emma worried her lip between her teeth, eyes flickering between Norman and Ray. The two boys were staring incredulously at one another. Nobody was saying anything though, and frankly, it was a tiny bit nerve wracking.

About a minute passed when (thank god) Ray spoke up. He lay the book down, let out a tired breath, and fixed the uneasy duo with an impatient stare. "Can you two cut to the chase already? Stop acting so damn weird."

Emma twiddled her thumbs. "You… were humming that song again… Are you okay?"

"You know we wouldn't be asking if we didn't care." Norman helpfully chipped in. "And you do look fairly out of it."

Ray took a second to observe the two before him. He showed very little emotion on his face. He always managed to play it cool. "Oh. So that's what this is about… You two are perceptive. But I'm fine."

"Really?" Norman raised a snowy white eyebrow in suspicion.

"Really." Ray affirmed.

Emma wasn't buying it though. And surely, neither was Norman. They knew him too well. And chances are, Ray knew that they did. He just wanted to get them off his back.

Emma moved to sit next to Ray, her soft ginger hair bouncing with her movements. The mattress creaked a little under her weight, but otherwise, the room remained unnervingly quiet. "Y'know…" She started, pointing at the discarded book. "You're only on page thirteen. You've barely read any since this morning." She didn't get a response to that. So she continued. "Ray… What's bothering you? I don't think you're fine, and if you can't trick me then you definitely haven't fooled Norman."

As if on cue, Norman was the next to sit on the bed. He sat to Ray's other side, and placed a hand reassuringly on his knee. "You don't have to talk to us. But we're here for you." Ray made no effort to move the hand away, so encouraged, Emma rested her head lovingly on his shoulder. Neither pressured Ray to say a thing. They simply waited.

It was fairly nice out that day, and as such, they had left the window open. The joyful sounds of chirping birds and playful children was carried off the air and into their room. The sun shone through a window uncovered by curtains. On days like this, Emma would usually love to be outside. But this was far more important than frolicking through nature.

Norman actually had class in a little while, though. He had missed his last lecture to attend to errands and after a stern talking to from Gilda, promised he wouldn't miss the next class. At this rate, it appeared as though he'd have to skip out on his promise. Not that it mattered, the man was a genius and already way ahead in his textbook. But it would seem he'd have to endure yet another earful from their green haired friend.

"Today was mom's birthday." Ray suddenly spoke. Emma and Norman both jolted at the sudden noise.

Emma was the first to respond. "Oh yeah?"

He timidly nodded.

"And that's why you're feeling blue?" Norman pressed.

"I dunno." Ray admitted with a defeated groan. He rested his head against the top of Emma's and released a short exhale. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel."

"Well… Clearly you feel sad." Emma pointed out. She tilted her head to better make eye contact with Ray. "Regardless of how you're _supposed to feel._ You feel sad. Do you think we could help?"

Ray made a small grunt. He narrowed his eyes and looked away from his caring girlfriend. "I… don't know. I'll stop feeling this way once I can figure out _why_ I feel this way. Makes no sense in hell."

"I don't know about that." Norman spoke wistfully. He dragged his thumb back and forth on Ray's knee. "I think it makes sense. Even if it didn't though, emotions aren't driven by logic Ray. You know that." He paused, thinking carefully on his next words. After all, he wanted to be as delicate as possible. Ray's mother was a touchy subject. "I think… maybe… your feelings toward your mother are complicated and today reminds you of your relationship more than any other. Birthdays are days meant to be celebrated, but there's nothing really worth celebrating today. All you can do is remember."

The three had all known each other since they were young. As such, Emma and Norman both had memories of Isabella. She had always seemed so _perfect_. The very image of motherhood. She was soft spoken, kind, gentle, compassionate, beautiful, intelligent, polite, loving… Like she were straight out of a fairytale. But real life isn't quite like the fairytales. It had come to light that she was in fact, cold and manipulative. Nothing if not a negative presence in her son's life.

Much to their disarray.

Ray scoffed, chuckling darkly. "You bastard. Why do you have to be so smart?"

Norman gave him a bittersweet smile.

"Say Ray?" Emma chimed in. "Do you want a hug? You can say no, of course."

Ray looked at her, grey eyes meeting green. Surprisingly, he managed a small smile. "Sure."

An enthusiastic and gleeful grin broke out across her lips. She sat up and subsequently threw herself at her crestfallen boyfriend. The two fell back and landed with a _pomf_ on the bed's plush sheets. Emma rested against his chest and wrapped her arms around him, giving a generous squeeze.

As to be expected, Norman soon joined in. Smirking, he allowed himself to fall gracelessly into the impromptu hug pile. "Don't go leaving me out, now."

"Never." Emma replied, giving the older boy a swift peck on the cheek. She turned her attention back to Ray and shot him a smug simper. "You want one too?"

Ray insincerely glared at her. But she didn't flinch. A warm blush consumed his cheeks as he did everything in his power to pretend he didn't in fact want one. "Do whatever you want." Ray could be such a tsundere sometimes. It was endearing though. Happy with that response, Emma leaned forward and pressed a short kiss to Ray's lips.

When she pulled away she moved to once more rested her head against him. "Do you feel a little better?"

Ray hummed idly in response. "Yeah… I guess I feel a bit better."

"Not all the way though." Norman observed.

"Astute as ever." He responded with an eye roll of faux annoyance.

"Well… that makes sense." Emma put forth. "Emotions aren't so easily controlled. You want us to stay here with you until you do feel better though?"

After a short beat, wherein Ray looked carefully between the expectantly waiting faces of his partners, he gave them a humble little nod. "Sure. That sounds nice."

And so they did. The three stayed cuddled up on their bed, chatting about this or that for the next couple hours to come. Eventually the warmth and comfort overcame the trio, and they drifted soundly to sleep. Isabella's lullaby flittered clearly throughout Ray's mind, but for then at least, the song seemed more calming than sorrowful. The three shared in a nap, filled with nothing but sweet dreams.


End file.
